I don't pay much attention to claims that Venice or any other city is the most romantic of all the world. Any city, or town, can be romantic (even, as I can attest, that forlorn series of gravel mounds in the desert known as Needles, California). Romance is where you find it--or make it, as the case may be.
But this past Sunday I happened upon a scene that convinced me that, for at least a few minutes, Venice was indeed the most romantic spot in all the world.
Enrico and Giulia, whom I'd meet after taking these images, live in the Veneto region about 60 kilometers outside Venice. Enrico had planned to propose in Piazza San Marco, only to discover that one day after the MOSE flood barrier had been raised to protect the famous site from what was forecast to be "extraordinary" acqua alta of 135 cm above mean, the piazza was left to fill with water from the less hazardous tide of 110 cm.
So, instead, it was on the Grand Canal, just across from the beautiful facade of Ca' D'Oro, that Enrico carried out his plan--with the happiest of results.
A big thanks to Giulia and Enrico for allowing me to share these images--a cheerful, beautiful, and welcome sight during troubled times. Congratulations, auguri, Glückwünsche, mazel tov!
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Nice story. Félicitations to Giulia and Enrico!
ReplyDeleteWas MOSE alredy out of order after only one use ?
I haven't read the local papers lately, but I think (or hope) that if the tide on Sunday had been, say, 135 or 140 cm they would have once again raised the barriers. And the only reason they did not was because a tide of 110 cm does not flood much of the city.
DeleteSo as not to interfere too much with the natural circulation of the tides--upon which the lagoon's ecosystem as well as the city depends--the idea is that MOSE will only be used to prevent extraordinarily high tides, the kind which really damage the city's structures. So there will still be acqua alta in Venice--especially in Piazza San Marco, which basically is the first place to flood (though long ago it was one of the highest parts of the city)--but, ideally, there will no longer be the tides of the heights that do extreme damage.
Aaaahh! How sweet.
ReplyDeleteTalking to them afterward, Ella, I'm not sure I've ever seen two people so aglow! Very sweet indeed.
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